NFL: Eagles try to get back to winning ways against Giants

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick hangs his head as he leaves he field against the Denver Broncos. Vick and comapny have been stymied in the red zone despite their vast offensive production. (AP Photo)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Eagles shocked the NFL in the first half of their opener. Chip Kelly’s wide-open, fast-break attack made the opposition and almost everyone watching the game dizzy.

Three straight losses later the Eagles look like one-half wonders. They haven’t done anything notable other than get on and off the field quickly, which puts them in good company when they oppose the winless New York Giants today a MetLife Stadium (1 p.m., Channel 29, WIP 94.1-FM).

“We know we have a great opportunity after the past four games and where we stand at,” Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson said. “There couldn’t be no better game to go to than New York. They’re a team we’re very familiar with. They’re 0-4 and we’re 1-3. So it’s a great opportunity for ourselves and that’s all we can do is really look forward to that.”

The NFL is on to Kelly’s up-tempo offense. The Eagles move the ball up and down the field, ranking second in the league in yards from scrimmage. But that hasn’t translated into points.

Advertisement

First the opposition stacked the box against LeSean McCoy. Then they took away Michael Vick’s first read, which for the first two games was Jackson, played more man-to-man coverage and flushed the quarterback from the pocket.

The Eagles average 24.8 points, 12th in the league. But with Jackson and the passing game throttled in the last two games, they’ve averaged just 18 points. Last year the Eagles scored 17.5 points, fourth from the bottom in the league. Those numbers bother Vick, who’s frustrated over criticism he’s held the ball too long in addition to the losing.

“It’s all about wins and losses,” Vick said. “I’ve never seen a guy being judged off of stats. We all understand as a group we’ve got to do everything it takes to win games. But stats don’t mean anything if you don’t win games.”

Quarterback Eli Manning and the Giants hit rock bottom in a 31-7 loss last week to Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs. The offensive line is been ravaged with injuries, the running game is a running joke and Manning has thrown a league-high nine interceptions … when he hasn’t been helped off the ground following 14 sacks.

“You have to make the plays that are necessary in order to win,” Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said on a conference call. “We haven’t done that. I think every game is important in this league. None, perhaps, more important than another. Certainly we’d like to win. But they’re all extremely important.”

The Eagles seem to be playing defense most of the game largely because the offense runs plays so rapidly it’s run up a 10-minute deficit in time of possession. The situation was acute in Denver. What was a one-possession game at the intermission turned into a 52-20 rout for Peyton Manning and the Broncos. The Eagles were unable to generate any real semblance of offense in the second half. They’re allowing a league-worst 446.8 yards per game.

“We gave up a lot of points,” Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin said. “It wasn’t a very good performance. You’re as good as your last game. so I’ll be over it after we go play Sunday … and play a lot better.”

The Eagles face another interesting challenge this week in that the Giants signed Dallas Reynolds, who played center for the Birds through the preseason and up until the final cut. He has a working knowledge of what Kelly likes to do.

“Teams study. Teams make adjustments,” Jackson said. “And I think that’s just kind of where we’re at right now. I think everybody saw what we did in the first couple of games and really tried to adjust to it and did a great job.”

Despite their warts, the Eagles will move into a tie for first in the NFC East if they beat the Giants and the Dallas Cowboys (2-2) are defeated by the Broncos. The Eagles would be 2-2 overall including 2-0 in the division.

All of that said, a loss would be crippling. In that case the Eagles would have to win six of their last 10 to avoid a non-losing season. Let the sting of must-win games begin.

“Everything is from here on out,” cornerback Brandon Boykin said. “There aren’t any games where we can go in and say, ‘well we can lose this one.’ You don’t want it to come down to the end of the season. Especially this game. This game is a division game and we need it. We need every game but this is definitely important as a division game.”